


no sleep till

by rinkinkirs



Category: Day 5 (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 10:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22564261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinkinkirs/pseuds/rinkinkirs
Summary: He thought he'd fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes, but he opens them again and stares at the ceiling.
Kudos: 1





	no sleep till

**Author's Note:**

> just clearing out my wip folder; i wrote this pretty much immediately post-season 1, because i think ellis and bill are neat

He thought he'd fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes, but he opens them again and stares at the ceiling. Sits up. The period of wakefulness will stop soon enough.

Eventually.

(Permanently.)

It's an odd thought, measuring his own life in hours, at most. He gets the map out, draws on top of the lines. Sees nothing new. 

Footsteps.

The hallway is empty, but they can't be far away.

Sure enough, Bill turns the corner, sees him, stops.

"Hey," Bill says.

Ellis knows he sees the last remains of their group lying on the hotel beds and resents the gaping defeat in his chest. "Here to say I told you so?"

Bill holds up a paper bag. "Nicole couldn't make it," he says. Clears his throat. "I brought you some blueberry muffins."

He's not sure if his heart is racing from sleep deprivation, nicotine or surprise, but he takes the bag. It smells delicious. What harm can a half hour do?

The trouble is, half an hour makes him want again. Want answers. Want life. Bill sits across from him in the hallway, staring dejectedly at the muffin in his hand, and Ellis knows all too well.

So they sit there.

They drink coffee until they run out of blueberry muffins.

Then the sun rises.

Bill looks tired, but he gets up. "I guess I'll be going then, so you can..." He trails off, looking lost.

Ellis looks at the empty paper bag.

"I'm not that tired," he says, picks himself and his backpack off the floor on shaky feet.

Bill snorts, but can't hide the way his face lights up. 

Ellis wonders how long Bill will make it on his own before he blows his brains out.

Bill hands him a thermos. "I brought extra coffee. It should still be warm."

Ellis feels like he's in the air as they move down the hallway; everything seems to tilt, just a bit out of focus, opens his eyes in the reception hall and can't remember how he got there. 

"Where do we go now?" Bill asks.

Ellis shakes his head, pushes the door open and feels the sun stab his brain, bright and merciless. "We go on," he says.


End file.
